The last 90 years or so got us out of the theater and back into the plaza, the workers’ field, the park, the prison. We started asking people to describe their own realities, and to bring those to the stage. Now we have a whole digital world to incorporate, and I am SO curious how others are using, not denying, this medium to further their work in the field of theater, and in particular, applied theater. If our goal (and of course this is debatable, but this is my version of it) is to tell stories which, thru the very act of telling, connect people to each other and therefore create a sense of the absolute necessity of action on an issue, why couldn’t digital media, the instant activism vehicle held in hands across the world, help us in this?
– TAG Executive Director, Jean Johnstone poses this question in her latest blog post, “Poverty, New Media, and the Stage: New-Style Participatory Politics Within Reach? ”
March is Art IS Education Month. The theme: Tell Your Story. As teaching artists, we are in the business of helping others tell their stories in ways that change their lives, change communities, and change the status quo. We must be considering Digital Media as a tool in helping us do this important work.
What do you think? How are you using digital media to further your work? Where are you hesitant and why? What help do you need to use these tools in more effective ways?
Telling our stories is at the root of activism. Teaching Artists, tell your stories this month!